DECONSTRUCTING STRESS
CHANGING THE WAY WE RELATE TO STRESS
Not all stress is equal.
Not all stress can be meditated or exercised away.
The Costs of Stress
- Work-related stress causes 120,000 deaths per year
- Mental Health America (formerly the NMHA) says stress costs US employers an estimated $500 billion in lost productivity annually
- According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), absenteeism alone costs US employers $225.8 billion annually or about $1,685 per employee
- Stress can lead to depression which leads to $51 billion in costs due to absenteeism and $26 billion in treatment costs
- Approximately 1M employees miss work every day due to stress
- 41% of stressed workers say stress leads to a loss in productivity.
- Over 1/4 of employees are at risk of burning out in the next 12 months
- 52% of a worker's annual salary is spent on lost productivity due to stress
- 60% of workers have left a job or would leave one over a bad boss.
- 16% of workers have quit their jobs due to stress.
- 33% of a worker's annual salary is spent to replace that worker
The individual brings stress into the workplace and the team, leader and organization give stress back.
Therefore, stress at work requires addressing the individual's needs as well as the team, leader, and organization simultaneously.
Who is Stressed
- 83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress.
- 35% of respondents said their main source of stress at work was their boss.
- Americans aged 30-49 are the most stressed age group.
- Women are more stressed-out than men.
- 94% of American workers report experiencing stress at their workplace. 23% of them described their stress levels as high, while 6% said their levels of stress were unreasonably high
- LGBTQ+ are 4x more likely to experience stress in the workplace
- Minorities also experience more stress in the workplace
- Women experience workplace stress more than men
Why are They Stressed
The are general facts from the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSJ). What we need to know is how your organization relate and react to their current stressors.
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35% of respondents said their main source of stress at work was their boss.
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80% of workers in the US were stressed as a result of ineffective company communication.
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39% of workers said that a heavy workload was their main cause of stress
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Only 40% of employees who suffer from stress have talked to their employer about it.
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34% of workers don’t feel safe reporting stress because they think it would be interpreted as a lack of interest or unwillingness to do the activity.
- 75% of employees believe that workers have more stressful jobs than ever before
Effect of Stress
- 54% of workers report that stress from work affects their life at home
- Depression is one of the three main workplace problems for employee assistance professionals
- 76% of US workers said that workplace stress affected their personal relationships.
- 57% of US employees think their employers don't care about their work-life balance
- 31% of surveyed US workers said that being unclear about expectations from supervisors is the most stressful element of change
- Workers say stress and anxiety affect their work productivity and coworker relations more than any factor
HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS
Individual Plan & Group Intensive
Both programs require personal coaching during the Deconstructing Stress process.
To explain and walk attendees through the process there is time to discuss and work through the framework.
Additionally, there is time to discuss alternate solution for each individual and the group as a whole.
What they walk away with is a tool to use for life.
Some detail.
- We walk you through a 13-step research-based process - THE DECONSTRUCTING STRESS PROGRAM
- By the end of the process people know walk away with an action plan for each stressor
- Participants learn how
- to list stressors
- identify how they affect them
- how they relate to it
- it's importance to them and the organization
- it's anxiety inducing effect
- its intensity level
- and develop an action plan
- We walk you through simple steps to gain clarity and provide exeercises for each step
- This is a lifelong usable tool
- This is a bridge to determining the type of support individuals, teams, leaders, and organizations need
Why is this different to other stress programs?
The Deconstructing Stress program is different than any other in 5-ways:
- We recognize not all stress is created equal. We dig out the core sources of stress and deal with those.
- We help find solutions equal to the problem. Medidation or mindfulness isn't the answer to practical problems. We suggest appropriate solutions.
- Not all stress is the organization's to own. People bring stress into work. We identify if it's something the business can support the employee with.
- Not all stress is the employee's to own. Some stressors or cultural or systematic. We identify those too.
- Knowledge is worthless unless you put it into action. This program is solution and action based. We help employees, leaders and teams map a healthier more productive path.
Testimonials
“What I liked best about this program is that it gave me some "ah ha" moments. That and it never made me feel bad that I had stress in the first place. It made me feel like I'm normal.”
“Working through this process with Dr. Tom helped me move beyond being trapped in the most complicated set of stressors I've ever experienced and released me into being my better self. ”
“Thank you for sharing Dr. Tom Alan-Livernois. A very thoughtful piece, including the exercise at the end which I think can serve as a powerful tool for mastering stress with renewed energy and insight. ”
A Vibrant Community for Support!
Everyone is experiencing stress at different levels, with varying complexities, and intensities. We can develop a web-based community room to be a support for the entire organization, answer questions as they arise, and develop a healthy group. In the group you will receive
- A safe environment to explore stress dynamics
- People going through a challenging time
- An honest and open discussion
- A space for each person to move at a pace that is comfortable to them
- Exploration of ideas, actions and solutions
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from any other stress management program?
This is a solutions based program that seeks the right action for the stressors they are experiencing. The solution is based on the problem.
Because stress is experienced by the person, and the person as employee affects the outcomes for the organization this program starts with the individual. This is a bottom up qualitative process.
This program uncovers the core sources of stress. This helps individuals separate what are personal from professional stressors and provides tools to assess and manage them accordingly.
The most valuable part of this program is that the individual and the organization receive action based outcomes to be used for the short- and long-term.
How stressed do people need to be?
This is a tool to be able to use in any part of the stress cycle.
Every workplace has a variety of different types of stressors. We help employees rethink how they relate to stress. We also rethink about stress and how one can alter the way certain stressors are perceived. Our approach is systematic and easily implemented.
Deconstructing stress can fit into an overall wellness program for companies with low stress overall, but supports the individuals association to stress.
We have guided people through this program who have been clinically diagnosed with chronic stress and organizations that are experiencing high stress and want to confirm the source and develop solutions.
What do you mean not all stressors is created equal?
Stressors are created at the intersection of stimuli filtered through an individual's experience and perception crossing with an environment, situation. Stressors generate tension that is expressed in physical and psychological outcomes.
People can can have a range of types of stressors that can vary in anxiety, intensity, and importance levels and effects.
In the Deconstructing Stress process breakdown the ball of stress people are feeling into its core elements - stressors. Each stressor is different for each individual and can be iterative and variable. We identify solutions and action plans based on the kind and effect the stressor is causing.
For instance, if someone is stressed because they are always late, meditation is not the answer. Working on time management skills is a more viable skill to refine. If a team is consistently missing on the quality of deliverables and causing the entire team stress, digging deeper into the core reason is a more relevant action.
Is this for leaders of all levels too?
Absolutely. We have taken leaders of all levels through this process and find it is valuable in a different way to each.
For executives we work on identifying leadership induced and systematic stressors. We spend more time developing more nuanced solutions and action plans based on the needs of the business.
We work with executives in approaches for different areas of the business based on the objectives and goals of that area.
We also work to define culture strengths and weaknesses that are affecting the entire organization.